Playa Gigante is very remote. We realize that on the way there. Our cab driver (there’s no bus going there from where we are) has to ask for directions twice. And for some reason, he chooses the slippery mud road instead of the paved road that leads into town further down. We’re lucky, though, we make it there without getting stuck. ‚There‘ is a very authentic tiny fishing village: you hear grunts and a pig appears out of nowhere, crossing your path. There are still far more locals than tourists and the fishermen return every noon with plenty of fish and other delicious seafood.

Typisches Fortbewegungsmittel

Faule Sau!

Der Weg zur Playa Amarilla

Weg zur Playa Gigante

You can walk through the entire village within five minutes. That doesn’t stop local youth (more like kids) from riding daddy’s big bike up and down the roads. No one seems to mind. There’s also a very small supermarket with some basic necessities – its cashier having decided not to be happy about her job and letting everyone feel her discontent with life. Right on! We find a nice place to stay and spend the next couple of days living like the locals. Just as we think that it can’t get any more authentic, we stumble into a huge party with more than 200 Gringos. Where the hell did they all come from?! It seems, the motto is the 70ies – we’re surrounded by Americans dressed in sparkling sequins and cheap wigs. We’re pretty dumbfounded. The next day we’re told that most of them had come from far away by car, just for the closing party of this one restaurant. We’re pretty glad it’s all over.

A big part of the day we spend sitting in our small plastic chairs in front of our hostel and looking out onto the „main road“. There’s always something going on. There’s dozens of pigs walking past and looking for food, horses without riders doing the same thing, parrots flying past and dogs looking for some love and food from a tourist… If we do get bored, there’s always the internet. Our hostel doesn’t have any. But the restaurant across the road does and we snuck the password. If the wind is right, we have a pretty decent connection. That’s how we find out about the massive swell that is supposed to hit in a couple of days. All forecasts predict waves of up to five meters – we’re skeptical. But as the days go by and the forecast doesn’t change, we take it seriously. So we decide to head back to San Juan del Sur, as there are more options to surf, but also more things to do if you can’t surf. And it turns out to be a very wise decision. Tropical storm Nate hits full force and what we witness the next couple of days is pretty insane. But you’ll have to wait for that story just a bit longer.